By Mikayla van Loon
Months of creative endeavours came to life for a spectacular art show at Montrose Primary School.
The unveiling of student made works on Wednesday 28 August was met with amazement and joy by parents, teachers and the students themselves.
Having not hosted an art show for many years, principal Kylie Fisher and lead art teacher Mandy Johnson said “if we were going to do it, we were going to do it well”.
Deciding back in March to host an art show, Ms Johnson said the featured works were completed over two terms by all students.
“I chose and was inspired by the natural world as a theme which covers lots of the inquiry topics the grades are doing in the classroom and most students have got two or more artworks on display,” she said.
Weaving through sections, the exhibition began with the night sky, before moving into wildlife, botanicals, sea life and a glow room.
“Once you leave the main building, you go into the hall, there’s a piece that’s been made by every class in the school, so five classes,” Ms Fisher said.
“The 25 pieces are going to a silent auction. So the Grade sixers made beautiful pop art stools with their little pictures on the top of the seat.”
Other designs included framed works and even colourful jenga, each individualised by the students.
The school choir also performed on the hour throughout the evening showcasing a range of talent.
Designing the art show as a walk through, with different sections within the broader natural world theme, Ms Johnson said was a purposeful way of giving each student’s and grade’s work ample space and the credit it deserved.
“We have so many talented kids and so many beautiful pieces of artwork. I thought a gallery walk would be wonderful, and leading out to the hall where the choir is going to sing,” she said.
Not only was the theme based on the natural environment and local flora and fauna, Ms Johnson said whenever they could, students used recycled materials to create their artworks.
From unused cardboard boxes to pieces of timber and even coffee cup lids, embedding sustainable practices in the art was an expansion of the values at Montrose Primary School.
“That’s usually a big part of lots of the inquiry units at a Grade 3 and 4 level. Last year, when they were studying the reef, we made turtles out of all the rubbish we collected and tied them together with the things that were harming them,” Ms Johnson said.
“We had all sorts of interesting things and discussions that came out of that. I love linking in with the classroom.”
Ms Fisher said that addition to the art room really “teaches the kids they can make art out of anything” but also connects to much of what the students learn in other programs and classes.
“There’s a wide offering of specialist subjects for the kids but art is one that kids really enjoy and even kids that don’t think they’re that creative have success in the art room,” Ms Fisher said.
It was safe to say the collaborative effort of the teachers and the vision Ms Johnson had truly came together in a wonderful form.
